The Lookout
by Ishvallan
Summary: David Madsen has a preferred place on campus where he can see everything that goes on. One Monday he gets involved in some things which no one would dream would end up starting the most dramatic and problematic week of anyone's life in that little town. Short story about a few minutes of his day during Ch 1 Chrysalis.


David Madsen stood atop the roof of the Prescott Dormitory, camera in hand, panning its zooming view over the grounds of Blackwell Academy. The class building was closed and there was nothing scheduled for the gymnasium, both had been cleared of students and faculty then locked for the night. The only places he was required to monitor until his shift ended were the open grounds, the sports fields, and the parking lot- all of which were perfectly in view from this roof. He had even timed himself that he could get to the farthest reaches of campus from this spot in under 2 minutes should he need to investigate or interrupt something.

One of the benefits of this school's photography and film programs was the local general technology store that popped up to supply them. He was able to get high definition telescopic camera to aid him in his rooftop monitoring and had planned for the school to invest in a number of state of the art surveillance cameras to make the job of security at the school easier and more effective.

He knew there was something toxic going on in the town. Any school in the States had some kind of drug problem and Blackwell was no different. He wanted to help the local police find the source and get rid of it. He knew his step daughter was heavily caught up in the problem, but she refused to give any information which could lead to the arrest of the local dealers. That girl was a problem child but he hoped that getting rid of the drugs in her life could help her straighten out and be the girl her mom described before her father passed away. She deserved more than just turning into some lonely, homeless, dropout, junkie or at the very least his wife deserved the feeling that her daughter would be something better.

He also knew through the rumor mill that there was a lot of bullying going on at the school which always turns violent at some point or another. He wanted to intervene and cut the problems short before anything too harmful came of it all. If he could stop the verbal abuse he would, but it wasn't technically against the law to be mean to each other. Garbage like this was hammered out of his behavior by the army and turned him into someone who just wanted others to be safe and peaceful. All he could do was try to be around the problem students, like Nathan Prescott and Victoria Chase, to discourage them from harassing others when he was within eye or earshot. With the new cameras, he could have more eyes everywhere, fewer places to hide to hurt people.

And at the forefront was Rachel Amber, someone he considered himself responsible for had gone missing for months. Not only was she a student of Blackwell, but his step daughter's best friend. She had spent many days and nights in his home with his step daughter and that made her more than just another student to him. She seemed to be the only thing that made Chloe happy even if he knew they were up to things he didn't approve of. The police didn't have the time to dedicate to the students, they had enough on their plate with the rest of the scum that settled in Arcadia Bay. The least he could do was gather as much evidence and piece everything together as possible. He was sure that Chase, Prescott, and the local creep Frank Bowers were all somehow involved in everything going on in recent years since he was hired, but proving anything was tricky. He didn't think any of them were smart enough to be so cautious not to slip up, he suspected some kind of ringleader. Nearly 2 years of surveillance on who that might be didn't even give up a single lead.

He considered what had happened just a short while ago, trying to get answers out of Kate Marsh who had recently been to one of the infamously problematic Vortex Club parties and was now the subject of a separate investigation about who may have drugged her or filmed the video which was the latest gossip. While the content of the supposed video wasn't necessarily illegal considering she had recently turned 18, it was clear she could not and did not give consent to any of the boys in the video, or to have the video made or distributed. She didn't deserve the harassment she was getting over something that couldn't be her fault. But for some reason she just refused to give up any names or explanation of what happened to her. Just like Chloe, unwilling to stick her own neck out for the good of putting the bad people behind bars.

One of the newer girls to the school had stood up to him in that parking lot and seemed to be defending Kate. Her confrontation helped him realize the aggressive tone he was taking and he tried to explain himself but the girls left him behind. He wasn't trying to make it worse for any of the victims in the school, but he needed them to help him help them. Sensitivity wasn't his strong suit. That's why he applied as security, not guidance counselor.

Scanning the grounds all seemed normal. Football, soccer, cheerleaders, cross country all practicing at the fields. The usual kids sitting in the area in front of the class building, nothing more suspicious than normal. He wasn't a fan of that one girl flying a camera drone on the grounds given the damage it could do if it hit someone or a window, but it did give him some more ideas for surveillance.

Then he saw the girl who yelled at him earlier that day- Caulfield if he remembered his files right. She was headed for the parking lot. He made a few mental notes: She seems like a good kid standing up for her friend when someone was yelling. She doesn't seem the type to be mixed up in any of this, she could probably receive low level eyes until anything came up to raise suspicion. She tended to spend a lot of time alone, but spent most of her little social time talking to other kids he had cleared of suspicions of being involved in any of the school's problems.

Nothing abnormal until she made it to the entrance of the parking lot. Nathan Prescott got up from his spot amongst his friends, pretty much every bad egg at the school; not that he could effectively prove they had done anything warranting more than a detention or a note in their file. He started walking with purpose towards the parking lot, seeming to stare straight at the Caulfield girl. He didn't know what was about to happen, but he was sure it would be better for him to be there acting than up here watching. He snapped a photo of what he saw, put down his camera, and ran down the stairs from the roof to the ground floor, then out the front door on a mission to find out what was about to happen.

Some of the kids in the dorm common area he ran through made comments about it being weird that he was up there but went back to what they were doing. Only one student seemed to notice that the door hadn't properly closed or been locked. Kate Marsh who had been sitting in a corner doing homework.


End file.
